"What do fish tacos, data storage, and disaster relief all have in common? Each has harnessed the power of marketing that amplifies via the real-time social web. These and many other case studies are part of this engaging new book that details strategies for marketers to understand, evolve, and profit in the social age." —John Gerzema, Chief Insights Officer, Young & Rubicam, and coauthor of Spend Shift

"Understanding what's possible and how to use social media will be essential for every marketer; this book will hold your hand in this brave new world." —John Miller, CMO, NBC Universal TV Group

"Like it or not, social media is here to stay. It needs to be understood, managed, and harnessed. This book tells you how. Read it!" —Zhihang Chi, Ph.D., Vice President and General Manager, North America, Air China Limited

"Beverly Macy is a true innovator and thought leader in the field of social media marketing." —Cathy Sandeen, Ph.D., MBA, Dean, UCLA Extension, University of California Los Angeles

About the Book

In an era when information travels at phenomenal speed along the “real-time Web,” a brand can explode into popular culture overnight--and die just as quickly. As a marketer, how can you stay ahead of the curve? How do you control the chaos? Two words: Social Media.

With The Power of Real-Time Social Media Marketing, you'll learn how to take advantage of today's "fluid" business environment and develop innovative ways to meet market demands. And here's the best part: all your tools--Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other sites--are free!

Leading figures in the exciting new world of sophisticated social media marketing, Beverly Macy and Teri Thompson explain how you can use this global, real-time platform to change how consumers interact with your brand. They then present detailed case studies illustrating how top organizations and emerging brand giants have proven the remarkable effectiveness of social media marketing. Find out how:

The American Red Cross turned a single "tweet" into $33 million worth of donations to earthquake victims in Haiti Orange County Transportation Authority engaged citizens to participate in transportation planning and use DIRE CTV boosted customer loyalty and trust by finding and solving complaints in real time EMC transformed business processes by leveraging workforce social media proficiency and "open" behavior models

Marketers no longer have the luxury of time to develop, test, and measure a brand. Use the lessons in The Power of Real-Time Social Media Marketing to launch your brand in a fixed amount of time, accurately measure the impact of your activities, and instantly adjust to any unforeseen events.